A/N: This was written as by a request on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy it!
Characters are not mine, I just borrowed them for a bit.
He first glimpses her while he was discussing the latest comedy in the theatre with Sir John and his lady wife, with Lady Margaret commenting with disdain on how vulgar one of the acts was.
He does not see much, only the soft dark curls descending till the small of her back and the flowing silk of her lavender gown.
"-isn't that right, Arthur?"
He turned his gaze back to the couple before him, seeing the expectant look on Margaret's face.
"Of course, Margaret." He replied, no idea whatsoever what the woman had asked him, but knowing from experience that she is not one to disagree with.
"Now if you will excuse me, I need to find my manservant, see that he does not do anything to embarrass me. Again." Arthur gave them his most charming smile and bowed his head. "Sir John. My lady."
It was not hard to find Merlin. He was where he always was, on the balcony having a cup of wine with that girl Freya, one of the Queen's ladies in waiting. She was not of the highest noble birth, but she was still above his station, yet his stubborn manservant and the equally stubborn girl refused to end this… Whatever it was between them. Arthur cleared his throat as he reached them.
"Merlin." They both turned to face him, their eyes merry with laughter and liquor. "Lady Freya."
"My Lord." She greeted, curtsying slightly and he bowed his head in return.
"Merlin, come with me."
"Yes, my lord." They both bowed again and Merlin stumbled slightly, his body still not used to even the smallest amount of wine.
"Any particular reason why you decided to rob me of my precious time with the beautiful lady?" Merlin began and Arthur scowled, smacking him on the back of the head lightly. "My Lord." He added teasingly after.
Arthur rolled his eyes, more than used to Merlin's disrespectful japes by now. "I was bored and Margaret was starting to get on my nerves."
"As usual."
"And you are my personal servant, Merlin, I believe it is your job to entertain me."
"Alright, let's see, what can I do? Juggle plates? Breathe fire through my mouth? Or maybe…"
But Merlin's voice trailed off when he caught sight of the beauty he saw before. She was laughing, the sound carrying over to where he stood, making his chest tighten. One of the lords, one he could not be bothered to remember the name of at the moment, was lightly conversing with her, and as she replied, she reached up and tucked her curls over her shoulder, exposing her long neck and delicious-looking dark skin to him.
She looked exquisite, her light lavender gown breathtakingly complimenting her figure and skin tone, her eyes the colour of caramel, her mouth formed into a smile that lit up her entire face.
"…my lord? Arthur?" Arthur blinked, seeing his servant waving his hand in front of his face and slapped it away.
"What?" He snapped in an annoyed tone.
"Taken with a beauty of your own?" Merlin was smiling smugly and Arthur had to resist the pressing urge to smack him again, harder this time.
"Shut up Merlin." They stood in silence for a while before Arthur finally spoke. "Any idea who she is?"
"So you are taken with her-"
"Merlin." Arthur said through gritted teeth and his servant grinned.
"This is the Lady Guinevere. Queen Victoria's new lady in waiting. Freya was just telling me about her. Seems half of court is charmed by her already."
"Well, it's about time to finally greet the Queen, is it not?" Arthur declared, seeing the lady, Guinevere, here reminded himself, move back to their ruler's side.
"Yes, go greet our gracious liege and leave me to my own lady!" Merlin grinned and turned, almost skipping back to the balcony where Freya was still stood.
Taking a deep breath, Arthur marched to Queen Victoria and her party, bending deeply at the waist when they reached them.
"My Queen." He greeted and took her offered hand, pressing a kiss to the back of her palm lightly.
"Lord Arthur." She greeted him with a smile. "I trust you are enjoying your time?"
"Immensely, Your Majesty."
They conversed for a while. Arthur was obviously in the Queen's good graces and she seemed to enjoy talking to him for a bit each time they met.
"I do not believe you have met Lady Guinevere yet?" She asked and Arthur had to stop his lips from curving into the most stupid smile.
"I do not believe I have, Your Majesty."
"Well, this is Lady Guinevere Leodegrance, my lady in waiting." She drew Guinevere's attention to them so as to introduce him. "Lady Guinevere, this is Lord Arthur Pendragon."
"My Lord." The girl curtsied and rose with a soft smile that made his heart clench and he immediately grabbed her hand, kissing it for a bit longer than necessary. He felt a spark shoot up his spine as soon as he had touched her skin and from her quiet gasp, he knew that she had felt it too.
"My Lady." Their eyes locked as he rose, soft brown and cerulean blue, and he had to remind himself that the Queen was watching them so he would not disrespect her and humiliate yourself.
"I'll leave you two for a bit. I need to talk to Lord Brown about a few matters." The Queen said instead and he could feel her fighting the sigh of relief as he was.
"My Queen." They both offered and she glided away, leaving them by themselves.
They stood in awkward silence, neither knowing what to say and Arthur cleared his throat.
"My Lady is quite beautiful." He blurted out and almost smacked himself on the forehead on how stupid he sounded.
"My Lord is most gracious. I am flattered." She offered softly.
"Flattery implies dishonesty." Arthur's voice was firm, but it softened, along with his eyes, with his next words. "I was merely stating a fact."
Guinevere smiled shyly, a rosy tint now visible on her cheeks. "Thank you, my lord."
"Arthur." He quickly corrected. "Call me Arthur."
"Then you must call me Guinevere." She returned.
"Well then, Guinevere." Arthur began. "Would you allow me the honour of keeping me company for the rest of the night?"
"Of course, Arthur." Guinevere smiled at him and he could not help but smile back as he offered her his arm, the two of them disappearing into the crowd.
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Until next time;
Lily